Organic Processing Vo1.6 #1

run by each county conservation department. “These are the groups that approve funding and someone needs to be there to represent organic and help inform the decision-makers about how organic farming works,” she said.

As we go into the future, the same organic farmer and processor engagement and activism that made the 2008 Farm Bill gains possible will be needed to ensure that the benefits of these programs can be fully harvested for years to come. At press time, proposals were already swirling around to cut the funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative and USDA had yet to release information on the implementation of these programs. Actions such as this will need to be carefully watched and scrutinized by the organic community. The new congress will also be faced with many pressures on the federal budget, and cuts to the organic research funding and other programs will be proposed. In other words, all of our gains have to be actively defended. This means being vigilant about the implementation process and diligent in protecting what we have won.

Beyond playing defense, however, we must also think about leveraging these wins and gaining more ground. Central to this goal is ensuring that organic processors and producers make good use of the programs detailed above. Toward this end, the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has created a Grassroots Guide to the 2008 Farm Bill, which provides detailed descriptions of the Farm Bill programs ( organic and others) and how to access them. This guide can be used to encourage the producers you work with to take advantage of the new resources provided in the 2008 Farm Bill. The Organic Trade Association also recently hosted a conference on the Farm Bill and recordings of the sessions are available at www.ota.com.

All in all, the organic sector did very well in this farm bill and gained priceless political capital in the process. That capital needs to be nurtured and expanded by individuals, companies and associations by staying informed and taking action. In early 2009 the attention will be on the Congressional appropriations process to ensure that we keep the funding allocated in the Farm Bill. Stay tuned.

Zachariah Baker is the policy associate for the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF). He can be reached at zach@ofrf.org.

Mark Lipson is OFRF’s senior policy analyst and can be reached at mark@ofrf.com.

OFRF is a nonprofit leader in grantmaking, policy, education and networking initiatives that support or-

ganic farmers’ information needs while moving the public and policy-makers toward greater investment in organic farming systems. For more information on the Farm Bill and more, visit www.ofrf.org.